DAVID MWAURA KARIUKI Diaconia University of Applied Sciences

Degree Master of Community Development, Human Rights and Conflict Resolution

Thesis, 2018

THE CHURCH’S ROLE IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

ABSTRACT

The role of Christian churches in fighting poverty through development activities can-

not be overlooked. Churches have come of age and collaborate with different organi-

zations to improve the well-being of communities around their vicinity through social

and economic community development programs.

The purpose of this thesis project was to investigate which crucial role the church can

play / plays in community building and uplifting the standard of living for the commu-

nity within its vicinity. The method used in the research study was community-based

qualitative research (CBQR). A case study is used to understand how the church con-

tributes to community development. The purpose of the study was to understand the

relationship the church has with its followers and community in its locality. Content

analysis was used to identify key themes emerging from the interviews with vivo cod-

ing being applied in the analysis.

The results show that the church recognizes poverty as a problem that needs attention

and has taken various social and economic actions to improve the well-being of the

community around its vicinity. The findings manifest that the church’s focus area in

community development is health, education, spiritual well-being, social, family life,

community empowerment and livelihood. Due to limitations of time and participant

numbers, the study does not give any in-depth evaluations of the church activities and

their sustainability. I therefore recommend further research of the church’s role in

community development and assessment of how sustainable the church development

activities are. I also recommend the church to seek more collaboration with other faith-

based organizations in community development activities.

Keywords: Church, Religion, community, development, poverty, social, economic

CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 4

2 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY ......................................................................... 6

2.1 Churches and development ................................................................................. 6

2.1.2 Churches and Economic development ......................................................... 8

2.2 Churches and poverty .................................................................................... 9

2.3 Religion View on culture ............................................................................ 11

2.4 Churches collaboration with other organization.......................................... 12

2.5 Church and Human rights ............................................................................ 13

3 PURPOSE, AIM AND RESEARCH QUESTION ............................................. 15

3.1 Mai-Mahiu town: the context of the research ............................................. 15

3.2 Purpose of the study .................................................................................... 17

3.3 Research question ........................................................................................ 17

4 METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................. 19

4.2 Data collection ............................................................................................. 20

4.3 Ethical considerations .................................................................................. 22

4.4 Data Analysis .............................................................................................. 23

5 RESULTS ............................................................................................................ 24

5.2 Case study: Anglican Church of Kenya in Mai-mahiu ............................... 24

5.3 Presentation of the themes ........................................................................... 26

5.3.1 Church position in the community ....................................................... 27

5.3.2 Church focus on Education, livelihood and Economy ......................... 27

5.3.3 Church focus on Health, well-being, social & family life ................... 31

6 DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................... 35

6.2 Participants perspective views on the church role ....................................... 35

6.3 Reflections based on the church role in development ................................. 37

6.4 Recommendations ....................................................................................... 40

6.5 Extra recommendations ............................................................................... 43

7 CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................................... 45

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 47

APPENDIX 1. Data analysis: vivo coding system .................................................... 51

APPENDIX 2. Data collection through interviews.................................................... 53

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1 INTRODUCTION

This thesis study is based on religion or church role in Africa community development

with main focus on poverty in rural Kenya. Africa isn’t just only the poorest continent;

but globally Africa’s poor are the poorest (Sakwa, 2007). The greater part of Africa’s

poor is profoundly religious and not only are faith communities most poor, but in many

instances, they are the poorest (Belshaw et al., 2000).

Like other developing nations, Kenya faces the test of improving the lives of people living

in rural areas and regardless of the existence of certain schemes and programs meant for

rural development, limited success has been reported (Njogu, 2013). Over seventy five

percent of Kenyans live in rural areas and depend on agribusiness for their livelihood.

Poverty and food scarcity are severe in the country’s arid and semiarid regions (Tenai,

2016). The World Bank (2018) also contends that most of Kenya’s poor live in rural areas

predominantly in the north-eastern parts of the country. This spatial dimension persists,

and possibly exacerbated inequality across regions in Kenya. Access to fundamental

amenities such as health care, education, clean water and sanitation, is deemed extrava-

gance for many Kenyans (Unicef, 2014).

In 2010, Kenya instituted a new Constitution that particularly addresses longstanding his-

torical, geographic, demographic and human rights violations that have impeded gradual

development (Unicef, 2014). Since the launching of new constitution in 2010, Kenya’s

economy has exponentially grown to new heights. Kenya has made significant political,

structural and economic reforms that have largely driven sustained economic growth, so-

cial development and political gains over the past decade. According to world Bank

(2018), Kenya crucial threat to development still include poverty, inequality, climate

change and the vulnerability of the economy to internal and external shocks.

According to Sakwa (2007) from independence up to the present time, poverty pose ob-

stacles to operations of the Christian religion and this complexity arises because of what

Christian religion had to provide to Kenyans in terms of social services. The role of the

5

church in community development is therefore an important subject that play in many

minds of Kenyans today including me.

To show case God’s kingdom, Christians and the church are called to convey integrity

and fairness in the world and this call has broad implications for the church’s operation

in the world (Nkansah-Obrempong, 2018). People interacting in congregations can detect

each other problems whether they are economic or spiritual in nature and development

activities can materialize from the interactions of local religious organizations (Marshall

& Van, 2007). Church offers impressive passionate image that recognize and tie people

together even when there is a lot of resistance and this is because religion is at the center

of values and beliefs that steer society (Njogu, 2013).

In the media and in education spheres, the role of religion in society is extremely debated

(Van, 2103). Evangelism and social responsibility of the mission church has exception-

ally been debated and the question of Christians role in society always arises (Nkansah-

Obrempong, 2018). Wijsen, (2011) sees topic influence if one will think or ask whether

development failed because religious beliefs were not taken into consideration. He thinks

that an answer to such thinking will be complicated and inconclusive.

Belshaw et al. (2000) implies that the Christian church in Africa has remarkably grown

like other religions. More than sixty five percent of Kenyans confess to the Christian

religion and therefore religion role cannot be overlooked (Sakwa, 2007). In development

Christian religion aspect need to be broadly considered because Africans have confidence

in it and in the world Christian religion is thought to be helpful in uplifting the standard

of living for the poor (Belshaw et al., 2000).

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2 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

2.1 Churches and development

Development is a topic that arises and is widely discussed by governments institution and

even ordinary people (Alawode, 2016). Development is about people lives, communities

and it is not something that can be categorized through measurements (Belshaw et al.,

2000). Community development hold foot in many spheres of our history including edu-

cation, economic, sociology, political, urban as well as regional planning and it is one of

the most diversified practice in history (Phillips & Pittman 2014

In many circles of development, faith-based organization have good background and op-

erate extensively in communities in provision of social services, health, education and act

as community organizers (Marshall & Keough, 2004). Faith-based organizations are de-

fined as “self-identified religious groups or institutions from a wide variety of traditions

that include but are not limited to various Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu

groups” (Dionne & Chen, 2000). Faith-based organizations frequently play as sole pro-

viders of social services, they scheme out ideas and deliver services inform of develop-

ments in sectors that governments have failed to develop (Adkins et al., 2010).

Belshaw et al., (2000) argue that most African Christians were molded by missionary

theologies through development activities such as education, farming and health institu-

tions. Omenya & Anum (2014) notes that the central objective of the missionary societies

was to change African religion with Christian religion; but they also point that the early

missionaries did not pay attention to African culture and African way of life became a

major hurdle in the missionary field.

Untold organizations engage in community development in various countries with diver-

sified political systems to address astounding problems (Bhattacharyya, 2004). Commu-

nity development is in fact a shifting system that operates professionally, and it is sup-

ported by different organizations as well as the public (Henderson & Verseg, 2010).

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One of this organization is the church which hold foot in many countries and their cultures

particularly in Africa. Belshaw et al., (2000) imply the church take spiritual topic sin-

cerely and see development as more than a secular process. Church seeks to hold forth

humane and spiritual values to underpin social, political, and economic development.

There are three objectives of sustainable development in society: economic development,

social inclusion, and environmental sustainability (Sachs, 2015). According to Henderson

& Verseg (2010), community development practice is a crucial empowerment method for

the people and this empowerment occurs through community activities and community

efforts taking place by the guidance of a development worker. Non-governmental organ-

izations actions can be church or mission hospitals and dispensaries, theology schools,

orphanages, refuge homes and other drives that target skills development, scholarship to

universities and even community mobilization (Marshall & Van, 2007). According to De

Temple (2012) development indeed has a background based from church principles and

these principles promote and shape our present-day world

According to Alowode (2016) as a church, the following serious questions have been

asked:

“Are we actively engaged in the difficult task of transformation that em-

braces the social, the economic and the spiritual?” “Are we making a lasting

influence on the society?” What is the score of the church in this whole issue

of spiritual and social transformation.?”

Most responses to these inquiries can be addressed solely on individual aspects related to

the way one interacts with the community (Green & Goetting, 2010). Bhattacharyya,

(2004) argues that community development should be based on different type of politics,

politics that are just, fair, nonauthoritative and based on people’s wishes.

Community development include resources provision to the marginalized and it’s about

providing assistance that is sustainable. Providers of such resources can range from gov-

ernment institutions, non-governmental organizations, charity organizations, philan-

thropic individuals, faith-based organizations and even businesses (West et al., 2014).

Just like religion which operate ultimately, development is all about enacting quality ac-

tions by mobilizing community to be self-reliant (De Temple, 2012). The church capacity

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to impact effectively to poor people is based on its followers and its stand in many coun-

tries through equitable evangelism (Belshaw, 2000). According to De Temple (2012) de-

velopment can be anything that constructively defy institutions powers through actions,

practices and ideas that are just and righteous. But, from a theology studies perspective it

is captivating to highlight that there is a lot of argumentation about the concept of religion,

and whether or not it contributes to development (Wijsen, 2011).

2.1.2 Churches and Economic development

Economic development is a far-reaching strategy that combine different types of actions

that facilitate, sustain and expand an area economy and in fact economic development is

a vital element of community development projects for any society or government (Phil-

lips & Pitt, 2012). This age of neoliberal governance has, however, unfolded opportunities

for revivification of faith-based activities within the public circle – activities that fills the

gap left by the receding governments (Cloke et al., 2013). Marshall & Keough (2004)

observes that the main principle of development solutions lies with worldwide commu-

nity and therefore each system and people need to handle distortions that interfere with a

more righteous and fair world.

Economic growth is an essential measure in poverty alleviation (Sakwa, 2007). Compli-

cation can arise if one will argue that economic process may be essential for achieving

community developments and bettering community differences, however it is not an ad-

equate condition (Munck, 2011). This is because most projects are based on values of

productivity, skillful use of economic resources and in some cases relationship or nego-

tiations between sponsors and beneficiaries (Belshaw et al. 2000).

According to Iheduru, (2001) economic consolidation has always been thought to be an

essential and assured means of development strategy in African countries. This implies

that although economic expansion is not enough condition to eradicate poverty, it is vital

and important element for alleviating poverty (Sakwa, 2007). Henderson & Verseg

(2010) raises this question, “how do the economic criteria that are central to social enter-

prises and other types of community economic development relate to community devel-

opment?” Maybe a more appropriate question would be “if development projects would

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perform better if they would take religions and religious leaders into account” (Wijsen,

2011).

The community acknowledges that the church role is not solely to preach and spread

evangelism, but also to be included in progressive development (Alowode, 2016). De-

Temple (2012) notes that development and faith are discourses that succeed physical, and

historical boundaries. Diversification of earnings to help the poor is for example an im-

portant policy to ensure the poor benefit constructively from economic growth (Sakwa,

2007). Phillips & Pitt (2014) argues that putting together the financing for an economic

development project entails calling the appropriate stakeholders and pinpointing assets

they possess.

Community development is widely, and with no doubt influenced by economic influence

(Henderson & Verseg, 2010). How religion influence economic development depends on

different aspects that varies from place to place (Clarke, 2013). On a religion perspective

economic development depends on the way people understand and work together to im-

prove their communities.

2.2 Churches and poverty

Poverty is a relevant issue globally and especially in Africa where it is well known to be

on the rise Sakwa, 2007). Faith-based organizations and people inspired by religious faith

and are worried for people living in poverty is undistinguishable act that is the same as

provision of spiritual nourishment (Clarke, 2013). In history poverty has always been

reflected by theologians and religion practitioners through activities such as education,

health provision, community support, emergency aids and conflict resolutions (Marshall

& Keough, 2004).

Poverty can mean lack of fundamental necessities and services such as food, clothing,

housing, healthcare, unemployment and education (Duze et al., 2008). Poverty can be

defined as a “state of being in shortage of basic elements required for a dignified living

and this could be economic, material, moral, intellectual or spiritual, among others”

(Ayiemba, et al., 2015). According to Wisor (2016) there are at least five competing

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conceptions of poverty each of which has a different definition, each of which picks out

individuals as poor.

• “Monetary conceptions define the poor as those who don’t have enough resources

to reach some minimal standard of living.”

• “A second conception of poverty defines the poor as those individuals who are

unable to meet their basic needs.”

• “A third conception of poverty defines people who lack basic capabilities as

poor.”

• “Fourth conception of poverty defines people as poor who are socially excluded

from normal functioning in society.”

• “The fifth conception of poverty defines a person as poor if the person is not able

to secure his basic economic and social rights.”

Njogu (2013) highlights that communities in rural areas are challenged by poverty, food

deprivation, lack of employment opportunities and substandard infrastructure. World

Bank (2018) implies that scaling up and geographically targeting of anti-poverty through

social protection programs can be of importance to help deprived families and lower ge-

ographical inequality. This implies that to eradicate poverty, programs need to be

emerged and unified to make them more effective in poverty alleviation (Sakwa, 2007).

Organizations like World Bank engage in researches that target the poor and from those

research’s there is acknowledgement that the poor feel vulnerable and unpresented; the

poor therefore lookup, rely and trust only their own institutions like the church (Belshaw

et al., 2000). However, Marshall & Van (2007) emphasize that, many projects designated

to reduce poverty fail to reach the most disadvantaged people and these people are so

excluded that they seem irrelevant to the rest of the society.

The church particularly in Africa is always challenged when poverty and development

are mentioned. Tenai (2016) argues that the existence of poverty in Africa brings and

raises a question of whether the church acknowledgement and its counter measures to

combat poverty are effective. Marshall & Van (2007) implies that projects aiming to fight

extreme poverty might be evaluated based on a very simple question: “Has this project

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allowed those who endure it to advance toward greater freedom, pride and responsibility

rather than remaining in a cycle of deprivation and dependence?”

Belshaw et al., (2000) stress that the Church should broaden and share research infor-

mation with governments and institutions like World Bank of the voices of the poor based

on the Church understanding of poverty that’s include religious, family, ethical and cul-

tural aspects. Fighting poverty demands care and respect for fellow human beings even

though the whole dimension of fighting poverty has its own practical aspects (Marshall

& Keough, 2004). The Bible governs how Christian faith conduct itself irrespective of

affiliation and therefore the church has a responsibility based on the bible to be included

in poverty alleviation (Sakwa, 2007). People who are experiencing extreme poverty need

to be reached and be treated as equals with considerations of human rights they have been

denied (Marshall & Van, 2007).

2.3 Religion View on culture

African people are deeply religious with religious insight shaping much of African culture

(Fonlon, 2010). African traditional faiths have no particular founders, nor are they written

in any holy books and in fact they have no theology connection (Omenya & Anum, 2014).

African traditional faith is culturally, socially and politically pure African in which they

exist and pass on and it is one of the most ancient form of religious exhibition in the

African continent (Omenya & Anum, 2014).

There is misinformation and misunderstanding between religion and culture; and indeed,

if religion and culture are correctly understood they walk hand in hand and can be used

to enforce community development and community mobilization (Murphy, 2012). Cul-

tural customs develop slowly with time and form a compounding relationship both with

religion and those involved in it (Marshall & Van 2007). Fonlon (2010) points out that

religion enforces rights and wrongs through believes.

African history has been shaped through time by factors like colonialism, states instabil-

ities, mistrust and suspicion, hardship, corruption and policies from foreign countries that

12

do not have African interests in mind (Iheduru, 2001). To transform African socially,

knowledge of African culture is therefore a necessity (Njogu, 2013).

Religion can describe people way of life in a society and if one can define culture as a

way of life then religion in this case play a vital role in the society (Ott, 2007). Sakwa

(2007) asks this question; “why is culture a necessity when tackling societal issues?”

Njogu (2013) observes that, there is a clear indication that religion and culture relentlessly

impact the lives of people and shape them socially, politically and economically.

By safeguarding societies cultures, the church can be able to reach to the people evangel-

ically and significantly (Berchie et al., 2016). In many communities, religion act and val-

idly shapes people’s beliefs and ideas concerning how they should carry on with their

lives (Marshall & Van 2007). Religion champion, support and strengthen certain beliefs

in society culture and thereby helps to determine identification (Njogu, 2013). Thus, the

importance of religion as a cultural component does not need debating (Fonlon, 2010).

2.4 Churches collaboration with other organization

International banks and international organizations have in recent years been seeking col-

laboration with other developments organizations like religious institutions to broaden

their role in fight against poverty. In actual fact the church work extensively with other

organization like world bank in bringing forth development opportunities to marginalized

communities. World Bank and the churches have respectively acknowledged their posi-

tion and responsibilities in fight against poverty (Belshaw et al. 2000). Apart from World

Bank, other organizations are stepping up to gain an understanding of poverty and while

doing so they are also seek collaboration with religious organizations (Marshall &

Keough, 2004).

Many religions have been involved in development endeavors, but realization of the re-

lationship between religion and development has come out from more global unforeseen

aspects (Harper, 2000). Religion and development organizations in different localities

have constantly been engaged in activities, discussion concerning poverty and social

13

equity (Marshall & Keough, 2004). The church is called to engage, assist and support

people who are excluded and socially disadvantaged (Berchie et al. 2016).

Global religions form molded societies that assist communities in hardship by strength-

ening them in their joint efforts, create relationship, coordination, and mutual assistance

(Harper, 2000). Poor people increasing difficulties shows that they need appropriate part-

nership with other organizations to come out of poverty (Belshaw et al. 2000). Strong

partnership forged through community development activities can usher new explicable

approaches that reinforce trust, enhance public engagement, promote leadership, promote

activities and actions that are more socially and politically tolerable (Phillips & Pitt,

2012). Economic development is more successful when public and private sectors collab-

orate (Phillips & Pitt, 2012). Although Murphy (2012) is quick to note that a “partnership

with an agency, however, should not be confused with a partnership with a community.”

Charities and other non-profit organizations play unique social goals getting in touch with

marginalized communities and usually assist them with education and skills needed in

employment (Johanson & Adams, 2004). Partnership between institutions and organiza-

tions engaged in community development is proving to be productive and symbolically

in many dimensions (Phillips & Pitt, 2012). As a result, religion has long played an im-

portant character in supporting the well-being of socially disadvantaged communities

(Clarke, 2013). Kenya for instance has set a vision to eradicate poverty by year 2030. I

view this as possibility if faith-based organizations will play their part in development

that steer community towards self-sustainability.

2.5 Church and Human rights

In this section I will lightly focus on church involvement in human rights advocacy. This

section does not provide a deeper analysis or the extent of church involvement in human

rights.

Human rights theme is not a new topic. Human rights and need to have them, have been

there for centuries. There are different perspectives from exactly the origin of human

rights. Religions, and societies worldwide have distinctive origins inform of scripts and

14

beliefs that speak of human dignity and human rights (Van, 2013). The essence and ex-

tent of each religion beliefs shape and highlight the dimensions of origin of human reac-

tions (Lerner, 2006). Human rights can be categorized as natural rights which lay down

the background of religion beliefs and present day Catholic Christian theology state that

human rights are inherent in natural law (Ghanea-Hercock et al., 2007).

Ancient people had conscience of acting accordingly toward other human beings. Human

beings are different, and that difference has been there since the beginning of time. There

are those of us who believe in religion and creation of man and there those who believe

in evolution and that humans evolved from something. But all in all, we fall under the

same umbrella of humanism irrespective of color, language, culture, place of origin etc.

Human rights have been practiced for a very long time, from the times Babylonians, Per-

sian era, Buddhism in India and many more. All these happened in B. Cs (Before Christ)

times and had almost similar agenda; call of tolerance and establishment of rule of law.

The concept of human rights can be found in prehistoric civilization in many cultures

(Freeman, 2017). Not long ago two aspects about the past of human rights existed. One

view was that before United Nations in 1945, there was little known about human rights

while the other view was that human rights are much older (Freeman, 2017). Human

rights should be seen as unavoidable progress that has been developing through time

(Ghanea-Hercock et al., 2007).

Malkavaara (2017) implies that:

“Human rights had already sprung up in the Old Testament in Judaism, but

for the first time they were formulated during the faith-critical Enlighten-

ment period. Also, from the area of non-Western cultural circles, ideas of

human values and their rights are known.”

Historically human rights together with reactions towards them have been known to all

ancient religions and cultural based societies (Van, 2013). Freeman (2017) remarks that

religion can brace human rights, but if religion opposes human rights that instantly pose

a problem that is strong and dominating. A church that follow the word of Jesus and

devotion to the marginalized by reconciling the work of Christ should also vigorously be

committed to community and political imposition of human rights (Gräb & Charbonnier,

2015).

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3 PURPOSE, AIM AND RESEARCH QUESTION

3.1 Mai-Mahiu town: the context of the research

Figure 1.0 portrays Mai-Mahiu town

Mai-Mahiu town is located in the escarpment of the Great Rift valley around 50km from

capital city Nairobi. Mai-mahiu derives its name from kikuyu native language which

means “Hot Water’’. In the beginning of the town formation, Mai-Mahiu was a small

village with few families mine included. The village center, was located in the junction

diverging two main roads, one heading to Narok and the other one towards Naivasha

town. The surrounding natural environment in Mai-Mahiu was something to be reckoned

with. The sceneries were beautiful, and the forests were dense with indigenous trees. Wild

Animals were everywhere lions, zebras, giraffes, gazelles, buffaloes, snakes etc. There

was a lot of economic development opportunities at that time through tourism.

During year 1992-94 a tribal war broke out between two communities in Narok which

lies in south-west of Kenya. People died, and some of the affected communities got in-

ternally displaced. Some of the displaced people came and settled in Mai-Mahiu. In year

16

2007-2008 Mai-Mahiu saw another influx of internally displaced people settling in this

economically strained town. The population exponentially grew in a way no one antici-

pated. Demand for land and space to build houses to accommodate the population influx

was high. A town started forming shape. Shops came up, and economically everything

changed. Right now, Mai-Mahiu is not a village anymore but a big and thriving town.

Today Mai-Mahiu town act as a stopover for transit motor vehicles. The town visible

source of income is farming, small businesses, building sand and stones mining. Sand and

stones are mined near mount Longonot and Margaret hill which are quite near the town.

Majority of the youths works in these mines and it’s their main source of livelihood.

I feel sad because it’s not the same place that I grew to love as a kid. The serene sceneries

aren’t any more like they used to be. The hills are barren, and few indigenous trees can

be seen. The environmental catastrophe that people created has changed everything. Food

security is the most threatening of all. The land which was used to cultivate food is scarce.

The dryness is persistent throughout the year and the rains are unpredictable.

The government was not fast enough to develop infrastructure with the growing popula-

tion. Water system, sewage system and infrastructure like garbage collection were never

put in place. For many years this town had to suffer with dirt, spread of diseases and

hunger. Today the government is putting this infrastructure in place but, in a very slow

space. A lot still has to be done to improve the well-being of the population. Rights to

basic needs like food, health, water and education haven’t been completely met.

I was born in Mai-Mahiu and in the beginning there was no Anglican church. We used to

go to church at least once a month in Naivasha town or in Limuru town. My parents

mostly my mother pioneered for the building of an Anglican church in Mai-Mahiu. They

teamed up with some other Anglican’s church followers to build the first Anglican church

in Mai-Mahiu. To build the church they had to do a lot of fundraisings. The first Anglican

church in Mai-Mahiu was a semi-structured building made up of old iron sheets and old

timber donated by well-wishers. Almost every month there was a function in the church

to raise more funds to build a better church.

17

The building of a big, more accommodating Anglican church in Mai-Mahiu took many

years and persistence of devoted Christians like my mother. Since my childhood I have

grown having these pre-conceived ideas that in Kenya, people donate to the church more

and the church give very little back to the same people. Today majority of Mai-Mahiu

residents are Christians and there are also other religion dominations in the town.

3.2 Purpose of the study

I know residents of Mai-Mahiu are suffering silently and waiting for things to happen

positively. The idea “positive” might feel to many farfetched.

In any type of research, objectives should be conveyed in a manner that the language used

is clear, complete and precisely indicates the purpose of the study (Kumar, 2014). The

purpose of this thesis project therefore, is to investigate what role can religion / church

play to alleviate people from poverty around its vicinity. To what scope does Anglican

church in Mai-Mahiu contribute to community development.? Can the church play a role

model in rural community development? The study aims to understand the relationship

the church plays between its followers and to what magnitude has Anglican church in

Mai-Mahiu played in provision of developments to its followers and community as

whole.

3.3 Research question

Qualitative project aims to disclose by exposing new understanding by narrating different

ideas and viewpoints to answer a problem rather than testing existing theories (Johnson,

2017).

My research question is based on my preconceived stances that poor people donate more

to the church and get very little in terms of development from the same church. Cooney

(2015) argues on the point of donation that the Bible urge people to donate in order to

reach heaven and therefore some church members do not donate to make the world a

better place but vice versa. Kumar (2014) assert that, “qualitative research attempt to

18

sustain flexibility, openness and freedom to include any new ideas or exclude any aspect

that initially included but later considered not to be relevant”. The research question in

this study is therefore open for debate as long as there is freedom that seek openness and

fairness.

The study therefore seeks to answer the following question:

I. Which role can the church play / has played in community building and uplifting

the standard of living for its followers or community within its vicinity?

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4 METHODOLOGY

For this Thesis, community-based qualitative research (CBQR) method was used. My

choice for using this method was because the method allowed me to assert myself as part

of the community in the study case. The method provided a good learning process. I was

able to apply theoretical knowledge learned in class into a real-life situation. The method

enabled me to constructively connect myself with the subjects involved in the study. Ku-

mar (2014) also argues that any study method chosen should be based on resources avail-

ability and expertise of the researcher. Multiple forms of data collection are applied in the

study. In the background of the study, secondary data collection is used while in the case

study a primary data collection is applied. According to Johnson (2017) the use of differ-

ent forms of data collection is important as it supply the researcher with more detailed

information and assist in development of themes.

Through time studies have not always taken society involved in the study in a participa-

tory approach (Hacker, 2013). Most traditional researches on community development

have always sidelined the subjects and the researchers have always put an assumption

that they know better what the community need. Even after the research is over the com-

munity don’t get credits from the results but rather the researchers use the findings for

their own gains. The use of CBQR study method was helpful as it advocates the im-

portance of the community voicing their views on the research itself. CBQR was advan-

tageous in this study, because the aspects of the research were changed and an approach

that made the community accept the research as their own was applied. Collaboration

with the research community partner played a huge role. CBQR method is important in

this study as it gave guidelines on how to build a better relationship with the community

partner. The participants viewpoints and reflections are highly valued in the whole study.

20

4.2 Data collection

The research study was carried with the permission of Anglican Church of Kenya Mai-

Mahiu. Method of data collection need to consider, the social and economic aspects of a

population (Kumar, 2014). A case study was carried out in order to have a comprehensive

understanding on which crucial role can the church play / plays in community building

and uplifting the standard of living for its followers or community within its vicinity.

To establish key subjects and get answer for the study research question, a list of semi-

structured interviews, were carried out (refer to appendix 2). According to Johnson (2017)

interviews are primary means of acquiring information in many qualitative research’s and

they are particularly useful in community-based qualitative research (CBQR). Nearly all

interviews in community-based research studies occur as planned meeting with semi-

structured interviews being applied as guidance (Johnson, 2017). The goal of the inter-

views was to identify and obtain participants views about the role the church plays to

improve their well-being through social-economic developments.

Data was also collected from the church and its partners websites. As Johnson (2017)

states that social media, internet, digital sources have become vital sources of information

within CBQR studies. According to her, pictures and writings can be useful in thematic

buildout and hypothesis associated with a topic being studied

The interviews were conducted using telephone and were in three phases. The grouping

was homogeneous. In homogeneous groups, “participants are grouped because of a com-

mon characteristic, such as age, gender, professional role, or membership in an organiza-

tion, and help researchers tap into group norms and practices” (Johnson, 2017). The par-

ticipants were therefore dived into three groups with different age sets and professional

role.

Phase one: the church reverend was interviewed. According to Johnson (2017) commu-

nity leaders can give vital information like community history and background to form

the basis of the study. The reverend was interviewed alone in order to attain first-hand

information on the church mandate and its position on community development.

21

The second phase was a group interview of three participants. Participants from this group

were from ages of 50 years and above (two males and one female). Some of the partici-

pants in this group were from the time the church was established. Purpose of setting this

group was to have a wider view on what role has the church played in people’s life since

its establishment. I wanted to gain their perception of what they think has been done well

and has the church activities been of mutual benefits both spiritual well-being and social-

economic developments.

The third phase was also a group interview of three participants from the ages of 18 – 40

(Two females and one male). The purpose of having this group was to understand the

young generation views regarding the church development activities.

Before carrying out the interviews, the participants were informed about the purpose of

the study and their ethical essences. The participants were also asked permission to record

the interview conversation and was agreed that their identities will be kept anonymous.

The duration of all interviews was one hour per interview. Interviews with adults usually

last between 45 and 90 minutes long (Johnson, 2017). Before the interviews I made sure

that the participants understood the purpose of the interviews and that their insight on the

subject is of high value both to me and the participants themselves.

Johnson (2017) contends that the language of the interview should be a language of flu-

ency for the person conducting the interview and the people being interviewed. The in-

terviews were conducted using the participants mother tongue language Kikuyu. Only the

reverend was interviewed in English language upon his request. Pictures can be beneficial

as they give comprehension overview within CBQR studies e.g. they can show or depict

activities community (Johnson, 2017). After the interviews one of the participants sent

me some photos portraying some of the church activities.

22

4.3 Ethical considerations

The code of ethics that guide all professionals have made progress through time (Kumar,

2014). The code of ethics is not only about protecting participants of research from harm,

but it is also about methods and ideas used in the research (Blaxter et al. 2010).

There are untold researches which have been carried out in Africa and in other developing

countries without the participants or society awareness. These types of researches violate

the fundaments of ethical conduct in research. Where people are involved in a research

process, their consent must be sought, and the standard of conduct must meet the Belmont

report (Hacker, 2013). Belmont Report which was issued in 1978 calls for respect for

persons, beneficence and justice.

Differences in culture and religion must be taken into account when talking and relating

to certain issues in a community for example issues that relates to gender (Bessette, 2004).

To assess informed consent at the community level, I sought to do a case study with

community that I know their values, culture and way of life. Hacker (2013) contend that

researchers need to understand the principles and beliefs of community at large, although

she is quick to point out that there are challenges with this because community are not

homogeneous and opinions from subgroups might differ substantially. Participants in so-

cial science are those people or society providing the information needed to understand

certain incidents, events or a happening (Kumar, 2014). Before conducting my inter-

views, I discussed with the participants the reasons for doing the research and that I had

permission from the church reverend to conduct the research. Participating in research is

not only voluntary, but often also without compensation (Seale et al., 2004). I informed

the participants that their participation is voluntary, and the study sole purpose is aca-

demic.

I sought verbally from the participants their consent to use the information they provide

and permission to record their conversation. Kumar (2014) implies that informed consent

includes making sure that the participants are satisfied by informing them the purpose and

aim of the research and also how such information will affect them. I discussed with the

participants importance of doing the research and sought their opinion relating to the

study. I informed and agreed verbally with the participants that their identity will stay

23

anonymous. Blaxter et al., (2010) Implies that informed consent is confidential and pro-

tecting the participants should be done using proper research ethics that make sure par-

ticipants are aware of the research purpose. The relevance of and usefulness of the re-

search must be considered before embarking on information collection (Kumar, 2014). I

discussed with the participants the title.

4.4 Data Analysis

Data analysis is about “moving from chaos to order, and from order to chaos” (Blaxter et

al., 2010). Content analysis was used to identify key themes emerging from the inter-

views. Kumar (2014) implies that content analysis means “analyzing the contents of in-

terviews or observational field notes in order to identify main themes that emerge for the

responses given by your respondents or the observation notes made by you.” According

to Johnson (2017) the purpose of analysis and coding is to build themes and opinions

associated with phenomenon under research.

The interviews were conducted in Kikuyu language and therefore I had to go through my

recordings many times and from that transcribe them to English. Johnson (2017) assert

that “analysis of qualitative data is recursive and iterative in that it involves a back and

forth, cyclical examination of data.” In this case, coding was the most effective way of

dismantling the enormous content.

Vivo coding was selected for the analysis. Vivo coding entails the application of partici-

pants terms and language as codes to illustrate key information, and this is vital in CBQR

because it concentrate building and outlining community awareness and knowledge

(Johnson, 2017). Codes were first established by transcribing through the interviews re-

cordings data and pinpointing interesting words. By doing so, I was able to come up with

words which were set as codes. After getting the codes, I analyzed emerging church ac-

tivities and assigned them some emerging themes. I fused the emerging themes together

which cleared way forward to determine the main themes. The main themes were inte-

grated, and the results was that the church play a role in social and economic sectors in

the community within its vicinity. Refer to appendix 1. The themes are comprehensively

elaborated in the results section.

24

5 RESULTS

5.2 Case study: Anglican Church of Kenya in Mai-mahiu

The Figures 2.0 portrays Anglican Church in Mai-Mahiu

Anglican Church of Kenya Mai-Mahiu division was established over 25 years ago. The

church was established by five families. The families through the help of Anglican

25

Church of Kenya Provincial Board of Mission were able to form a congregation and get

recognition as part of Anglican Church. According to one of the participants in the inter-

views, the first preaching of evangelism by a A.C.K reverend in Mai-Mahiu was done

under a big acacia tree. The sermons continued for some time under the tree until well-

wishers came to their rescue and donated some building materials. The first Mai-Mahiu

Anglican church was semi-structured building made up of old iron sheets and old timber.

The land where the church is built was donated also by a devoted Anglican church fol-

lower from Kiambu town in central Kenya. The building of a big, more accommodating

Anglican church in Mai-Mahiu took many years and persistence of devoted Christians

and well-wishers.

A.C.K Mai-Mahiu is part of Diocese of Mt. Kenya South. The church operates under the

Anglican Church of Kenya vision which is A growing, Caring Anglican Church boldly

proclaiming Christ. Core values are faith in Christ, Love, Integrity, Honoring God, Pro-

fessionalism, Humility and Collaboration and partnership (A.C.K, 2009).

The current reverend has been in charge of the church mission for over year now. Ac-

cording to him he has a huge role to play in ensuring the church mandates and visions on

community development are well coordinated. According to the church reverend, there

are today over 200 registered members in Anglican Church Mai-Mahiu. There are also

over 100 children attending church services meant for young children. The church devel-

opments projects and activities have hundreds of followers who benefit directly or indi-

rectly.

The data analysis shows that Anglican church in Mai-Mahiu has prioritized its efforts in

developing the community both socially and economically. These priorities have been

placed on various issues that have been identified by the community as most pressing

matters of concern. These issues are shown as themes in the figure below.

26

figure 3.0

5.3 Presentation of the themes

The themes in this section are presented as the study case findings. “The main purpose of

using data display is to make the findings easy and clear to understand and provide ex-

tensive and comprehensive information in a succinct and effective way” (Kumar, 2014).

The presentations of the main themes will be descriptive and narrative. I use descriptive

method to answer my research objectives. Some organizations that came up in the study

case will not be mentioned by name because their consent was not sought. Kumar (2014)

contends that if research is predominant descriptive the central goals need to evidently

represent the central focus of the research even far as disclosing the study organization

partner location “unless these are to be kept confidential.”

When elaborating sequences and building key themes it is vital that researchers pursue

distinct categories of evidence across phenomenon’s and even from participants (John-

son, 2017). The themes will therefore be represented also using some of the participants

own words. The main aim is to illustrate the “variation in a phenomenon, situation, event

or episode without making an attempt to quantify it” (Kumar, 2014).

27

5.3.1 Church position in the community

The Anglican church in Mai-Mahiu has taken a strategic position to support community

development activities in the local area context. Almost every participant paid attention

for the need to fight poverty by transforming the community through development.

According to the reverend the development activities undertaken by the church are not

meant only for the church members but are focused on the whole community. The rever-

end stated that:

“It will be wrong for the church to engage in preaching evangelism while

the community members are languishing in poverty. The church is the com-

munity and there is no church if the community is suffering. Development

is the key to manifest true word of God”

To achieve development objectives, the reverend reported that the church has been col-

laborating with other churches and non-governmental organizations to uplift people of

Mai-Mahiu town from poverty. According to him, Anglican church in Mai-Mahiu has

partnered with churches like African inland church (A.I.C) and Catholic church to help

the orphans as well as create awareness on HIV/ AIDs and support those suffering from

this deadly disease. The reverend reported that to improve the well-being of the commu-

nity most vulnerable, the church has partnered with two other non-governmental organi-

zations. These organizations have been extensively working with the community to im-

prove lives and fight poverty. The organizations have assisted financially in housing pro-

jects, education on entrepreneurship, HIV/AIDs awareness, mentoring and spiritual de-

velopment.

5.3.2 Church focus on Education, livelihood and Economy

The Anglican church in Mai-Mahiu seeks to eradicate poverty and empower its commu-

nity members through education and ventures that support entrepreneurship. According

to the reverend education can help empower the community with the necessary

knowledge and skills to adapt to the global changes. He pointed out that, the church can-

not be able to eradicate poverty among its community members by just preaching

28

evangelism. The church need to come up with smart educational ideas that benefit the

whole community.

The participants for instance pointed out the need of education and job training provision

for the youths. Participants from the ages of 50 years and above seemed to acknowledge

and insist on the importance of education particularly for the youths.

“This town is full of idle youths who do nothing all day. Some work in the

mines, but the mines are not enough for everyone. We need to come up with

strategies, to help this young generation. They are like a ticking time bomb”.

The church needs to safeguard the lives of the young generation who are the people of

tomorrow. To secure their future, the church has sort education as an area of interest

where members of the community can be empowered. The reverend reported that educa-

tion is a good mechanism of promoting economic growth.

One practical and visible development activity is the church library. According to one of

the participants in the interviews, the library was started as an effort to promote literacy

in the community. The library is moderately equipped and its managed by the church.

The library is opened for everyone in the community to ensure inclusivity.

Figure 4.0 represent the church library

“Everyone is welcome to use the library facility and to make the library

more accessible, no registration is required.”

The library is very popular among the students. One of the participant said during the

interview:

29

“I don’t know what I will do without the church library. My grandchildren

use it almost daily during the school holidays. This way, I always have

peace in my mind because I know my grandchildren are not engaging in bad

behaviors like taking drugs. I always know where to find them if they are

not anywhere to be seen during day times.”

The library is open from Monday – Saturdays and from 8.00 am – 16.00 pm. The provi-

sion of an accessible and moderately equipped library for the community is valued as one

of the most important contribution of church to the community. The participants agreed

to the vital role the library has played in the community.

“Not only does the library serve as an education facility, it also serves as

place where young and old gather to socialize. The library is an empowering

engine for the community as it gives the community an opportunity to learn

from one another, thereby gaining knowledge and skills. The library has

created a good reputation within the community that even other organiza-

tions have been contributing for its expansion and maintenance.”

The church also promotes education by helping the orphan’s relatives in school fees pay-

ments.

“There are many orphans in this community whose parents have died from

HIV. These orphans are left under the care of their grandparents or relatives

who are financially strained. Secondary schools and colleges are not free

here. As a church member I feel it’s my responsibility to help these children

get proper education.”

The church organizes fundraising projects and the funds raised are used to pay for the

orphan’s school-fees. One participants reported on the matter.

“You see, when we as church members notice that one of us is struggling to

pay school fees for her/his children, we take the matter in our hand. First,

we inform the church committee, who then organize a fundraising project

and through that the school fees are paid. Everyone contributes to these pro-

jects. Am proud when I see these children going to school.”

30

To empower community members economically the church runs a micro-finance project

within the church facilities. The objective of the micro-finance project is to encourage

entrepreneurship and thereby creating small businesses into the community that boost

employment. The project assist community members who cannot get loans from conven-

tional banks. Anybody within the community can come and get a small loan e.g. to start

a business, pay school fees, pay medical bills, farming etc.

To get a loan one need to register with the micro-finance and save part of his/her income

for six months. According to the reverend, those who do not fulfill the criteria’s and need

a loan are directly assisted by the church. One participant reported that the micro-finance

is a God sent project. Community members are now able to start up small business as

well as farming ventures like poultry and rabbit farming.

“People here are so poor. Many people around here don’t own anything,

they have no land or anything to show as collateral damage if they go to the

big banks, like those in Nairobi, but lucky us we have the micro-finance and

people are able to make a living through small loans. We get loans just like

that and nobody is coming after your house if you are not able to pay back

the monthly installments on time. Beside the micro-finance loan interest is

so low that everyone can afford.”

The reverend reported that the micro-finance project has opened new frontiers that even

people from abroad, Tanzania and Ghana are coming to learn how micro-finance oper-

ates. The micro-finance project works with other organizations to empower the commu-

nity to have mean-full transformation. The reverend said that one of the church partner

train community members on business management, microfinancing, leadership as well

as entrepreneurship startup.

To combat food security the church with its partners organizes seminars that promote

small scale farming. One participant said that the church distributes tree seedlings to the

community.

31

5.3.3 Church focus on Health, well-being, social & family life

The reverend explained that the church is seeking all ways to promote health, well-being,

social and family life by creating opportunities and instilling moral values through mate-

rial and information distribution. The church targets people in the community that face

indirect discrimination on the ground of their health status and economic capabilities.

The church for instance is involved in providing education for people living with

HIV/AIDs to promote their health and well-being. The church holds seminars where these

affected group are counseled to help them cope better in life with the negative effect of

knowing that they are HIV positive. There are also seminars been organized within the

church facility to create awareness on the dangers of HIV/AIDs. These seminars have

objective to reduce discrimination that people with HIV/AIDs suffer and encounter in

their daily lives. According to the reverend the church has realized that majority of HIV

positive are poor and cannot afford antiretroviral drugs. The church has therefore filled

the gap by assisting these people get the much-needed drugs. The church distributes food

and clothes to these vulnerable community members. One of the participants commented

about food distribution.

“The church is not just a building, the church is you and me, her or him.

Can we really call ourselves Christians if one of our community members

is sleeping hungry or attending church service with worn out clothes? To

me that would be disgrace and shameful.”

The church members and well-wishers come together every year and donate clothes and

household goods that are then distributed to the most vulnerable community members.

Members of the community like elderly, orphans and disabled are first priority.

The church has different types of men, youth and women associations. These associations

are operated by the members of the church. Their sole purpose is to assist the church

members during difficulty times e.g. death, ailments and old age. All the participants

talked and commented on the importance of these associations.

32

“We have been assisting one another during difficulty times. We live in a

place that no one can survive alone. We pay visits to those church members

who are not feeling well, the old ones who are not able to come to church

anymore and those whose love ones have died. We do a lot of fundraising

and assist them financially as well as emotionally. Like my brother here,

referring to one of the participants. He was every sick sometimes back and

we were all there for him. We prayed for him, supported him in paying his

medical bills and now I find joy to see him smiling.”

The most notable of the associations was the women association. This is because apart

from giving assistance, the association also organizes seminars that are solely meant for

women and girls. In these seminars women and girls discuss their role in the community.

Most importantly they discuss their rights as women and inequality issues that they have

to grapple in their daily lives. The association also has an objective of breaking the cycle

where women positions and contribution in the society is seen as weak.

The church has been engaged in Housing projects. According to the reverend the church

has sort partnership with other organizations to help build better houses for the poor mem-

bers of the community. The church has extensively assisted in building better houses that

are more accommodating. According to the reverend the church target group has been for

the orphans’ relatives and widows. The church and its partners provide financial support

while the community provides labor. The church aim is to see that the orphan’s grow in

a normal child life as possible. This according to the reverend, encourages ownership and

responsibility. One of the young participants noted that the housing project in not in large

scale, but some vulnerable people like widows have benefited from it.

“Families have been joined together and those broken psychologically have

found true love in the church”.

In Mai-Mahiu town, water shortage is a prevalent obstacle that majority of the population

faces. To tackle this problem the church with its partners have come up with rainy water

collection project. In this project poor people are distributed with plastic water tanks

which can hold over 1000 liters of rainy water. Community members are educated on

how to collect rainy water, how to safely store it and how to treat it for safe consumption.

33

“After my widow neighbor got this tank, I have not seen her running around

in search of water. She told me that, she now has time to work and take care

of her two young children.”

Some of the beneficiaries have been using the collected water to grow vegetables for

home consumption. One of the participant said that the impact the tanks have is high that

more and more people are enrolling to the church programs because they can see what

the church is doing for them. The church has seen its influence enhanced as an important

local institution though provision of opportunities for the church members as well as the

community.

Figure 5.0 Illustrate some water tanks donated by an organization that collaborate with

Anglican church in Mai-Mahiu

The reverend reported that to improve security and prevent intertribal wars, the church

frequently engages with community leaders from different tribes. The church brings them

together and issues concerning their communities are discussed. The church helps in get-

ting solutions to these issues and thus prevent conflicts in Mai-Mahiu town. The church

also holds seminars that preach peace and the importance of living together without view-

ing your neighbor as an enemy. Participants said they always find companionship in the

church and that companionship cannot be found anywhere else. The church also shows

the importance of inclusivity through non-discriminatory activities in preaching evange-

lism. According to the reverend the church has two services on Sundays. One in native

language Kikuyu or Swahili and the other one in English. One participant pointed out on

the subject of peace and inclusivity

34

“The church cannot call for people to unite, while during Sunday service

some of us cannot understand what is happening because of language bar-

rier. That’s why the church has two Sunday services. I myself I attend the

English Sunday service because one of my friend is from another tribe and

he don’t speak the native language”.

According to the reverend the church has put inclusivity first hand to make sure no one

feels left behind.

“I believe in Christianism that is inclusive. As a church we call for equality

and promotion of opportunities that are equal to all. This town has many

tribes who speak different languages. Services should not be rendered in a

manner that doesn’t promote diversity. The church conduct itself in fairness

that align with the gospel.”

The value of the church and its focus to promote Health, well-being, social & family life

of the community was highly appreciated by almost all the participants. The participants

were proud to tell how the church play an important role as a community institution within

health and social life promotion. From above, the assumption is that the church creates

supportive habitat that seek to promote health, social justice and equality.

35

6 DISCUSSION

6.2 Participants perspective views on the church role

The role of the church as an independent institution was regarded as a pillar for the weak

and vulnerable community members by many participants. Devotion related with religion

can sometimes make people engage in activities that are meant to help people in need

through charity work or other assistive activities (Ter & Busuttil, 2004). The participants

saw the church as the last defense in solving wider range of issues affecting the commu-

nity. Like Green & Goetting (2010) have argued Society needs often include problem

such as lack of employment, poverty, security instability and housing problems. The

church call for unity and support to address these issues was viewed by many participants

as true Christianism call. Participants said that church members are willing to serve and

contribute to development with the leadership of the church.

Sakwa (2007) implies that “empowerment offers the necessary resources for the poor to

champion their well-being e.g. micro-credits for the poor are praised for empowering the

poor by offering them opportunities to strive for economic independence.” Participants

views on the role the church plays to develop / empower them though social and economic

means was positive. Entrepreneurship is all about creativity where one start from bottom

and rise up (Strauss, 2013). The micro-finance project that helps in entrepreneur startup

was seen as an empowering engine for many who seek self-reliance and personal devel-

opment.

In Christian spheres families are fundamental social component of communities and

many churches always stress the importance of family inside or outside the church com-

pound (De Temple, 2012). Sometimes people are not able to control their lives and to

understand and conceptualize what is happening around them, they seek God for help

God (Murray, 2012). The participants mentioned that, majority of the community mem-

bers are joining the church as way out to confront their stressful life and yield a sense of

identity and self-worth. According to Henderson & Vercseg (2010) the purpose of

36

community development is to encourage society participation through communal inclu-

sion with an aim of consolidating sense of identity.

The important aspect that came up with many participants was the need for the church to

continue with the path of striving to achieve spiritual and emotional well-being of the

community members. The participants see the church as a partner because they feel it’s a

place where they can gain strength and confront loneliness that is brought about by their

perplexing poverty. They thought that the church has done well on the spiritual level as

well as development level. The participants were quick also to note that there is a lot that

still need to be done. The achievements the church has made should be taken as an exam-

ple for improvement to bring about prosperity.

Many marginalized societies need extra resources to be able to execute their goals (Green

& Goetting, 2010). Majority of the participants noted that the church access to resources

to address to community needs is not sufficient. Anglican Church in Mai-Mahiu financial

constraints has left some important agendas that the community have brought on the table

not to be initiated. According to Njogu (2013) present day worries is lack of employment

especially among the youth which he sees as waste of human capability. Three partici-

pants mentioned the need of having a technical college where youths can get technical

skills needed in job markets. The prospect of starting such a project has been brought up

many times, however the church is unable to heed to the call due to the huge cost the

project can incur.

Establishing partnerships usually demand a change in viewpoints (Bessette, 2004). The

participants noted there is need for the church to work more with other faith-based dom-

inations in the town to improve the well-being of the community. Majority of the partic-

ipants mentioned that the church collaborates very little with other churches and maybe

that should change. One participant reported that churches in Mai-Mahiu need to change

their attitude and think big on how to work together in development activities.

The participants would also like to see the government working more closely with the

church to achieve its development agenda. Njogu, (2013) argues that “public-private part-

nerships have the potential to enable governments to increase public infrastructure or

public services while using fewer of their own resources and maintaining or even improv-

ing the quality of the standards offered.” The government, through its public policy, can

37

see to it that disadvantaged people enjoy from economic development (Sakwa, 2007).

One participant noted that the problem they face is lack of collaboration between govern-

ment institutions and non-governmental organization like the church.

I noticed one crucial finding, in that the participants had no conflict with the church. No

single participant gave any negative reflections toward the church role in the community.

This might reflect the positive opinions the participants have towards the church. This

however should not be an assumption that the rest of the community feel the same because

the positive opinions came from six participants if the reverend is excluded. The church

understands the community situation and living condition better than any other organiza-

tion including the government. It is easier for them to communicate their needs and feel-

ings whenever they feel overwhelmed by issues. The participants do not hold the church

accountable on anything, but they relay the accountabilities of developments on to their

shoulders. The participants felt that they are much stronger in person than they were be-

fore they joined the church. They see the church as an organization they have created and

that the church cannot operate without their full compliance. The participants seemed to

acknowledge enormously that the church is making a huge impact on their lives.

6.3 Reflections based on the church role in development

o To answer the study research question, I will give an argumentation based on the

church role in development: Which crucial role can the church play / has played

in community building and uplifting the standard of living for its followers or

community within its vicinity?

After the interviews and with the benefit of hindsight it is easier to see where the church

is heading and what can be done differently to achieve more meaningful sustainable com-

munity developments. From the participants views, I see that the church has societal ex-

pectations and pressure to act according to its core values that governs its. I also see an

emerging characteristic based on the participants views, that there is a drive that make the

church to want to act perfect in every way possible towards helping the community. This

is because the members of the church do not see the church as an organization that is

38

operated on hierarchy. De Temple (2012) proclaim that community-based activities re-

quires that religious and standard of behaviors are merged with economic progress to

create wholeness that promote positive morality. I see Anglican church in Mai-Mahiu

seeking wholeness by energizing the community from the grassroot through activities that

merge church values with community needs.

Cooney (2015) see charity in two components. First, he sees charity as something we do

to assist those in need and second, he views charity as an objective to support and dimin-

ish hardship for those in need. Thinking of the church activities and the participants re-

sponse toward church role in development, I find that, there is a confusion or misunder-

standing of charity work and community development. Some of the activities that the

participants named as community development can also be termed in other dimension as

charity work. Maybe the confusion arises on the definition and concept of community

development. Henderson & Vercseg (2010) argues that part of the complication when

debating community development is unpredictability about its capacity. “On what scale

is it operating?” “Is it essentially about voluntary involvement or does it depend on there

being professional intervention?”

Maybe the church has not figured it out on how to separate between charity work and

independent promotion of sustainable community development. If it has, then there is a

conflict that emerge where the church is fighting for its independence. Murray (2012)

contends that the Church has been a stable institution for many centuries and this stability

is even mentioned and documented by ancient Greeks and Romans. So, by referring to

“independence”, I see the church as organization that bring development when request to

start an activity is brought by the community rather than the church seeking to initiate

independently an activity. But at the same time, I cannot help but notice that this is a good

community-based development practice. Community development action seeks to cen-

tralize roles and involvement from those the problems touches (Henderson & Vercseg,

2010). The church as an organization listens to community needs and develop activities

based on those needs. The worldwide proposal is to begin development from people's

own viewpoints of their problems, rather than instilling ideas with activities that do not

reflect their community (Bessette, 2014).

39

People are sincere about the problems at hand and they take actions to solve them seri-

ously (Cooney, 2015). From the participants mindset, it is crystal clear that the church is

serious and committed in its development activities. The church is in a tough position

though, because to cement stable relationship with the community, the church has to un-

derstand that it cannot satisfy everyone. When I think of satisfaction, I see another major

problem arising from that assumption, because of the church members understanding of

what is church. They see the church as themselves and without their presence and their

roles, they see the church as just a building or a mean-less symbol. Roles in this case are

what Murray (2012) define as responsibilities that people have in the daily life of the

Church. In other words, they get satisfaction from the notion that they are the church.

From this twist, there are many ways the church can operate differently to bring about

more noticeable and sustainable community developments to the people of Mai-Mahiu

without losing its “independence”.

The church has made its role completely known on what it sees as healthy, meaningful

engagement of the community. I assume that the church engagement with the community

is cyclically and perhaps it connects with the church members as they see best. Commu-

nity development is an action based that promote social unification as well as community

solidarity (Henderson & Vercseg, 2010). These developments can be achieved from what

the church is doing at the moment by bring the community together through activities like

education and health promotion. Togetherness of community opens new frontiers through

education and activities that enhance learning (Henderson & Vercseg, 2010).

The participants see a healthy dynamic that the church creates through its role in commu-

nity development. The themes that emerged from the interviews shows that the church

stresses the need for community engagement based on good relationship through its evan-

gelism purposes and community development. The church put efforts on reaching to eve-

ryone in the community regardless of their affiliation with other faith-based domination.

This is manifested with the church activities that are open to everyone. According to many

participants, the church through its activities has cultivated meaningful relationship that’s

go out beyond its evangelical interests. The church call for love and care through practical

actions has shown community willingness to participate in the church activities. The

themes presented in the result section shows indeed that the church has taken some steps

with programs that address the community needs.

40

Based on the participants views on role of the church, there is a real and general compas-

sion by the church towards those in need around it. The Anglican church in Mai-Mahiu

recognizes that there is grinding poverty that people experience and there is need to ad-

dress it. Its effort to combat poverty and bring hope to suffering community members is

certain.

The participants took enormous pride in telling the achievements of the church and I can-

not take the position of bringing skepticism on the church development work. I mentioned

earlier on, that the church has not drawn a line between charity work and community

development. I want to clarify my opinion in that, I do not have any cynics toward the

church activities. This is because I see the church operating on what it sees best for the

community. The church members participation in church activities are based on their

viewpoints and believes of what is a good Christianism. I therefore call for improvements

on how the church engage on its development activities and also improvement of existing

programs. I propose to the Anglican church Mai-Mahiu to improve the use of bottom up

approach in its quest to uplift the community from poverty.

6.4 Recommendations

Building a community using a bottom up approach requires calculated moves and ideas

must be holistically inclusive. To have beneficial and impact in community building eve-

rything the community owns, should be thoroughly looked through the lens. Identifying

assets in a local setting is one of the many approaches that the church need in order to

cement the foundation for a bottom up approach context. Awareness of local environment

entails knowledge of area natural resources and how they are controlled (Bessette, 2004).

Asset based community development (ABCD) is a “community development approach

that uncovers and unlocks assets within a community and in doing so generates opportu-

nities for economic and social development” (Phillips & Pittman, 2014).

Religious sites and buildings are multipurpose and not only are they used for worship, but

they act as centers for socialization (Marshall & Van, 2007). Religion beliefs presents

ideas of why we live, and people define their situations by how they act and behave in

41

their communities (Clarke, 2013). Investing in public and engaging in proper community-

based development requires proper understanding of community needs. Bhattacharyya

(2004) see community development as any activity or economic development that mobi-

lize everyone and activate everyone to be involved without exclusion.

Community practitioner’s responsibilities is building a community from the grassroot,

where they map community potential and strengths. Recognizing abilities and skills the

community have should definitely be a priority. Other things to look upon while building

a community using a bottom up approach are Institutions whether governmental or non-

governmental, culture, religion and environment. The church partners are philanthropi-

cally structured and therefore I propose a relationship with them not based on financial

assistance, but rather on creative of shared value. With shared value in mind, it is easier

for the church to formulate a methodology that aim to achieve joint goals. This in my

view lay a foundation on the basis on where to start in order to create and develop rela-

tionship that is of potential interest to the community.

A bottom up approach should be more focused on the strengths and interest of the com-

munity. Focus on community resources should play the upper hand of fostering the way

forward in making the community understand one another and from that compassion

build a thriving community from what already exist. Robert & Pittman (2014) define as-

sets as the “stock of resources people uses to build livelihoods which can be tangible or

intangible.”

Development means a process of “enabling people to accomplish things that they could

not do before – that is to learn and apply information, attitudes, values and skills previ-

ously unavailable to them” (Alawode, 2016). Bhattacharyya (2004) observes that most

people understand development as economic growth, however community development

advocate action by talking and acting on issues affecting the community. I cannot argue

on this point because most of the church activities are based solely on community re-

quests. However, some of the social issues that affect the people of Mai-Mahiu e.g. health,

education, unemployment, hunger etc. needs and requires some more concretive church

activities that can solve community social economic problems.

42

Education is a path to a more productive life as a citizen and an income earner (Sachs,

2015). Good development activities like education which the church has in place can be

good mechanisms to boost its economic developments agendas. For instance, the church

can request its partners to include as part of their educational programs, courses that help

improve communication skills. With good communication skills, community members

can be able to skillfully communicate their needs and issues that affect them to the gov-

ernment and other non-governmental organizations.

The church should seek developments that drive the community to be self-sufficient.

Bessette (2004) argues that, promoting community self-organization is the only approach

when the state does not have the necessary resources to assume all of its responsibilities

regarding human basic needs and socio-economic development. The church is a good

community asset and community members seems to acknowledge with pride its presence.

The church should focus on capacity building where community can develop skills and

competency needed by the community in order to have a better control of their lives. I

argue this on the aspect of the participants understanding of development.

Most communities also have numerous formal and informal organizations. These institu-

tions are prospective strong players in development operations because they have social

assets that can and do promote quality actions (Green & Goetting, 2010). Church associ-

ations that focus on well-being of the community members can be used to fight for better

distribution of health services by the government. Social health inequalities that the peo-

ple of Mai-Mahiu faces can take a turn for the better, if for instance the government can

take the role of provision of good health services. Poor community members would not

anymore need to use expensive private hospitals and instead they can use government

owned health institutions. The church associations can use the resources they use on

health to focus on other tentative issues facing the community.

The use of bottom up approach by the church associations can help the community to pay

special attention on the environment. Physical environment for instance should be con-

sidered. Environmental degradation can have great negative impact on any community.

Ways to improve or protect it should be formulated with local assistance. Empowering

community to have a sense of ownership of the physical environment should be a priority.

Focusing on the environment can help solve food security issues in Mai-Mahiu. Educat-

ing farmers on how to maximize yield through proper farming methods that don’t deplete

43

the soil its nutrients can have a big impact in resolving food security. The church should

encourage community members engaged in farming to take advantage of the micro-fi-

nance organization. This can assist farmers to access capital needed to buy farm inputs.

There are many different dimension, values and structure to survey in order to conduct

and encourage community inclusion (Sachs, 2015). Appreciating the community culture

and laying collaborative policies that help in safeguarding the community is a good bot-

tom up approach. Policy makers should think more locally in order to make policies that

have positive effect on the community. Policies that don’t help in development should be

done away with and encourage those that help the community develop. Good policies

that empower people are good for the economy. It encourages communities to be more

innovative which is good for development and creates a sense of independence. Some

policies encourage people to work together which is good for social capital. Phillips &

Pittman (2014) argues that social capital is present when people work together. “We have

a purpose to fulfill, we try to do that by following certain methods, and we implement the

methods by means of certain techniques” (Bhattacharyya, 2004). There are lot of potential

if the church bottom- up approach is used accordingly in community building.

6.5 Extra recommendations

The church activities to develop the community socially and economically are promising,

but this study had no conclusive evaluations on their sustainability. The case study results

might come out short as whole representation of church role in community development

due to the fact that the information was based on interviews of less than ten participants.

I therefore recommend a follow up study for some time in the future to determine the

success and failure of the church development activities. Reviewing of the church devel-

opment activities will bring forth a deeper comprehension of local needs and identifying

area resources to have a better perception on which needs to address first. This can help

to determine long-term, sustainability and impact of future church programs in Mai-

Mahiu town.

I recommend that the church seek collaboration with other churches in development sec-

tors. Anglican church in Mai-Mahiu should recognize the importance of collaborating

44

with other faith-based domination in Mai-Mahiu to boost its community development

activities. To boost people moral and trust I recommend that the government of Kenya

seek partnership with churches to achieve its development visions. The gap of mis-trust

that has developed between the people and its government can be scaled down if the gov-

ernment recognizes the need to partner with institutions like churches which seek and

engage in development activities.

45

7 CONCLUSIONS

Churches in Kenya operate in a diverse local community and thus need for involvement

in community development activities. A powerful action that connects nearly all religions

is kindness and concern for those in hardship (Marshall & Keough, 2004). Faith-based

organizations and churches have played important role in alleviating people from poverty,

but marginalized people calling are hardly considered (Nixon, 2013). Time to change is

now, where disadvantaged people voices are listened to and actions that impact their lives

positively are enacted.

Anglican Church in Mai-Mahiu has applied different strategies to fight poverty in the

community. The strategies use a bottom up approach that the church members see fit to

cater for their needs. The findings of this study revealed that the Anglican church of

Kenya Mai-Mahiu is doing well to its capacity to fight poverty. On the issue of empow-

erment, Anglican church in Mai-Mahiu scored very well in that participants in the re-

search were satisfied with the church development work. The church was commended on

issue of inclusion through activities that are warm and welcoming. The participants

thought that the church has sufficiently done well to attract new members through projects

with the central objective of spreading the word of God. Church facilities can be of vital

use in civic engagement and can be useful in facilitating service provision and information

distribution to the local communities. This is manifested by the church use of its facilities

for various activities meant for community development.

The church needs to continue with the good work of addressing poverty by creating ef-

fective programs that can adequately and sustainably empower community for a long

time. However, the findings also reveal that there is much that is needed to be done to

fight unemployment, food security, water scarcity and overall poverty. There are lot of

opportunities that the church can take advantage of e.g. in tourism sectors. Mai-Mahiu

town is located in a strategic place and the surrounding natural environment if well man-

aged can be good source of income and employment through tourism.

46

Churches see development as something that attend to person’s physical and divine de-

velopment (Alawode, 2016). The study results manifested that a local church can play

both role of spiritual well-being as well as uplift community from poverty through devel-

opment activities. The study also manifests the ability of a local church to heed develop-

ment calls from the community. The church can play a vital role in addressing poverty,

because different measures can be used to address poverty (Jensen & Patason, 2010).

However, Marshall & Keough, (2004) argues that fighting poverty has a technical dimen-

sion, but even more it requires a capacity to respect and care for fellow human beings.

According to Dionne & Chen, (2000) it is “critical that churches and church-based organ-

izations not get so wrapped up in daily operations that they fail to address the all-im-

portant question of how to translate their faith and their experiences into advocacy of

effective public policies.” The results from the case study is evident that local churches

can fill the gap left by government institutions to support and develop socially as well as

economically marginalized individuals within their locality. The reputation of the church

therefore depends on its ability to confront community issues while staying harmonized

within its core values.

47

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51

APPENDIX 1. Data analysis: vivo coding system

Codes Church activities Emerging themes Main themes

• Povert

• Education

• Community

members

• Food

• Security

• Diseases

• Health

• Housing

• Water

• Family

• Parents

• School

• Farming

• Well-being

• Displacement

• Orphans

• School fees

• Economy

• Hardship

• Library

• Security

• Enviroment

✓ Management of a

community li-

brary that is

wholly owned

and funded by the

church

✓ Church Organizes

seminars to create

awareness on the

dangers of HIV/AIDs

and how to cope with

the disease once ac-

quired

✓ Engage in housing

projects. Build

houses for the most

venerable community

members

✓ Church Assist in pay-

ing school-fees for

orphans and for those

with very low income

✓ Church support entre-

preneurship through a

micro-finance project

that is owned and

managed by the

church

✓ Church organizes

seminars and educate

community on how to

engage in small scale

farming to fight food

security

✓ Helps to fight

hunger and

➢ Majority of church

followers earn less

than a dollar a day

➢ There is a large pop-

ulation of commu-

nity members living

with HIV/AIDs

➢ Poor parents strug-

gle to pay school-

fees for their chil-

dren

➢ Housing is a major

issue among rela-

tives left with or-

phans and widows

and widowers

➢ Land is scarce

➢ Majority of youth

lack technical skills

needed in job mar-

kets

➢ Education is highly

valued

➢ Security risk: Risk

of intertribal conflict

is prevalent

➢ People within the

community lack ac-

cess to clean water

➢ Unemployment rate

is very high among

the youths

➢ Lots of orphans be-

ing left under the

care of grandparents

➢ People lack tech-

nical skills to

❖ Health

❖ Well-being

❖ Family & social life

❖ Economy

❖ Livelihood

❖ Education

❖ Partnership

52

✓ malnutrition food

distribution. Edu-

cation on farming

engage in meaning-

ful farming

➢ Food security poses

a major threat

➢ Access to healthcare

is a challenge

mostly for those liv-

ing with HIV &

AIDS

53

APPENDIX 2. Data collection through interviews

Interview guide: Semi-structrured interviews

1. Tell me about your history with the church?

o What made you / influenced you to join Anglican church and not any other

church?

2. What does the term church bring to mind? Or how do you understand the term

church?

o With the description you just gave, can you tell me a little more, how you

feel about the church?

3. How is the church involved in development projects in the community?

o Can you tell me some examples of these projects or activities?

o What make the church / or what is the drive force that make the church

want to get involved in community development activities?

o Who suggests these activities / where do these ideas of community devel-

opment come from?

o Who are the target of these development projects? Can you tell me more

about the beneficiaries of these projects?

o Is the church involved in any peace building activities? How does the

church maintain inclusivity?

o Can you tell me more how the community as a whole is benefiting from

these projects?

o Where is the physical location that these projects take place in?

o Have you been involved in any of these projects and have you personally

benefited from these projects?

o Does the church collaborate with other churches in development projects?

And are there other organizations working with the church? If there are

what do they do? Does the church collaborate with government institu-

tions?

o Where do you think the church has made progress? Has the church been

able to initiate all projects that have been tabled? And are there any ob-

stacles that hinder church progress?

54

o Do you think the church is doing enough to uplift the lives of vulnerable

community members?

o Do you have any suggestions, ideas that the church should do to bring

more sustainable developments to the community?